


The Two of Us

by NeverComingHome



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 04:37:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/935455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverComingHome/pseuds/NeverComingHome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Come on, knock me up. You know you want to." </p>
<p>Spoilers for the season.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Two of Us

**Author's Note:**

> If you like this fic then thank Bb because I had no intention of writing it otherwise.

Gabriela as a rule tends not to pay attention to what she says when talking to Leslie.

She makes sure she doesn’t sound too flirtatious when around Matthew, that she doesn’t say anything that could bruise Peter’s sensitive ego, that her tone is sufficiently non combative when arguing her point with the chief and that the hysterical teenager with the broken bones (because they thought trying to bungee jump with frayed rope was a good idea) doesn’t break into tears because instead of “Calm down” Gabriella accidentally bellows, “What the hell were you thinking?”

She does all this because she knows when she really needs to talk Leslie will be there to listen to cut through her unfiltered rambling. With a raise of an eyebrow she can convince Gabriella to spill secrets Peter couldn’t pry out of her in an hour if he was on his A game and Gabriella was two beers. It’s just one of those facts about their friendship along with Leslie pretending she doesn’t like shopping and Gabriella pretending she does.

~*~  
The day after her visit with a fertility doctor Leslie slumps against the side of their ambulance and tells Gabriela what he told her: The problem was less about fertility and more about Leslie being unable to give birth. He’d suggested surrogacy or being prepared for a C section, but there's no way Leslie can afford to take the extra recovery time off and she definitely couldn’t afford to hire someone to carry the baby.

“Not even here and already I can’t take care of it.” She said it almost beneath her breath while rolling a rock back and forth beneath her shoe. If it had been anyone else there would’ve been a pause while Gabriela thought of something both comforting and appropriate to say, buying time with a hug or hand on the shoulder. Instead Gabriella Dawson blurts,

“Why don’t I do it?”

Leslie snorts. “Sure.”

“No I’m serious. You want a kid, I have a womb and I could use the time off to finish my med courses and help out at Molly's so we don't need to hire someone new just yet. Perfect timing."

Leslie looks up from her shoes. “Okay Dawson I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but this is coming from the woman who still complains about the time she had to exercise after a big meal. Being pregnant is a little harder than that.”

“Well one, it was Thanksgiving dinner and a five am Insanity work out class that you didn’t even bother to show up for. Two, you were going to get pregnant. Are you saying you’re stronger than me?”

“You got jumpy at the idea of moving in with Mills. Surrogacy is a huge commitment.”

“Look I barely know him, you’re my best friend and you deserve this baby if it’s what you really want. I know things with Severide are complicated right now and whether you liked it or not I was going to be in this kid’s life anyway.” She slides closer to Leslie, putting her chin on the other woman’s shoulder. “Come on, knock me up, you know you want to.”

Leslie bites her tongue to keep from laughing, but had to concede it was far from her worst option.

“Alright.”

They shake on it and then promptly burst into giggles. 

~*~  
When Gabriela thought she was moving in with Peter she’d given her notice and considering that Kelly spends the majority of his time with Renee they all agree on him moving out and Gabriella moving in. When the egg takes Leslie and Kelly argue, but he insists on  paying rent until Gabriela went back to work, claiming that it was the least he could do to thank her. It felt like he was apologizing in advance for what they both knew him having a kid with someone else meant and in perfect Shay fashion Leslie buries her emotions in obsessing over making the flat kid friendly and trying not to stress Gabriela out while they waited out the three month period in which “things” tended to happen.

When Gabriela comes back from the appointment Leslie is staring through the television set, forcing herself to become absorbed in the problems of someone else. She sits up straighter upon seeing he, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Alright, I’m ready.”

“Still pregnant, forecasts indicate I will continue to be pregnant.”

Leslie bounces up and down, drumming the sarm of the couch and curling her feet beneath her to settle in while demanding to know every gory detail. Gabriela can't put into words just how little she knew what she’d signed up for, but it's all sort of worth it when she turns around on the guest bed to see Leslie watching her from the doorway.

“Creeper.”

“Always.” Her hair is still wet from the shower, and drops slide down her wrist onto Gabriela’s hand when she sits to cover it with her own. “I wanted to say thanks. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

“Well I’d say anytime, but I don’t want you getting ideas.“ She drops onto her back, looking at Leslie from the pillow and pointing a finger. “Consider this the first and last Shay that will be inside-oh wow that thought just went to a very wrong place I’ll be shutting up now.”

Leslie seems to be somewhere else however and can't quite meet Gabriella’s eyes when she asks if she could sleep in the same room for the night. Considering that Gabriela has woken up far more times than once to Leslie snoring (and not always clothed) next to her and that was before they lived together her only response is to lift her hips and shove down the blankets. In the middle of the night she wakes up to find Leslie on her back, almost on the other side of the bed except for her hand which rests on Gabriela’s stomach as if magnetized 

She reaches for her cell, takes a picture and reminds herself to send it to everyone in the squad.

~*~  
“Hey check your mail I made another one.”

Otis clicks 'send' and everyone checks for their phones, laughing at the photo of Leslie’s hand on Gabriela’s stomach with the words “My precious” in elfish text above it. Leslie clenches her teeth and starts ranting about immaturity and them being blessed with tons of it before texting “Traitor” to Gabriela who is at home, but knows exactly what she's referring to.

All things considered Leslie wonders why she's the unreasonable one when Gabriela had laughed when Leslie presented her with a chart titled “No Nos” which included foods drenched in sugar, couch time vs exercise mat time and anything that wouldn’t be shown or played after dark. The day after she sticks the list to the fridge she comes home to find Gabriela and her brother on the couch watching a mobster flick while dipping oreos into a jar of peanut butter and swearing at the television where an officer is being gunned down.

In unison they complain when Leslie picks up the universal remote and turns it off.

“That wasn’t on tivo, Shay, turn it back or we'll miss the ending.”

“I have something better than mindless violence.”

Antonio scoffs, "I doubt it."

Ignoring him she drops the shopping bag onto the table and the Dawsons lean forward. Gabriela comes back with educational videos and recorded operas while Antonio inspects green containers with “Recipes for Life” printed on the front, claiming to be as fresh as if someone stuck their hand into the dirt and wrapped up what they pulled out. He gingerly replaces the items as if they're contaminated and pats his sister’s leg, suddenly remembering various errands he had been putting off.

Gabriela grabs the cuff of his jacket. “Where are you going?”

“Far far away from here, chico,” he whispers, but to Leslie he opened his arms for a hug and let her walk him out. Gabriela meanwhile tries to console herself. Sure Leslie bought all this, but her attention span is short and the days are long. Within a week she’d be right next to Gabriela in a crowded theater watching superheroes smash things without any worries about its effect on a baby that barely had ears.

She has nothing to worry about.

~*~  
In hindsight she would’ve worried about different things.

Gabriela contines working for as long as she can before they both agree it was getting to risky and she takes her leave of absence to spend the rest of her pregnancy at Molly's.  Zoya’s English improves the more they talk and Gabriela starts to like talking to her.  Zoya thinks she's great for offering herself up for the sake of someone else and Gabriela thinks Zoya is brave for leaving everything behind and doing well for herself.

“Ah, I have Otis.”

“And I have Shay, but sometimes when you’re alone it doesn’t matter how many people are around you.”

“That is true. May I be inappropriate?”

Thinking she' s going to ask a question Gabriela shrugs, not expecting the kiss and therefore unable to do anything more than let it happen. Zoya pulls back then then leans further over the bar and kisses her again.

  
“Something is wrong?”

“You, um, you were kissing me."

“You said you have been attracted to women before.”

"Yes, I did."

She cradels Gabriela's face in her hands, "So I can keep going?”

“Please.”

She does and Gabriela’s brain starts working long enough for her to think about hormones and the fact that when her eyes are barely closed and Zoya’s mouth is on her neck it's almost like she's with someone else; someone who is also blonde and giggly with strong hands.

Kissing Zoya is a good thing.  She convinces herself of it after a series of nights spent locking up Molly’s early to park in front of he building until their words run out and their hands take over the conversation. She hasn't told Leslie about it, but she intends to. After all they're living together and she's having her kid, but they aren't actually together. Gabriela had been falling asleep earlier and earlier so who knew if Leslie had been making it back to her own bed every night. She convinces herself that it's a good thing she's kissing Zoya because she isn’t going to stay pregnant forever. Sooner or later she’ll  be an ex surrogate and glorified godmother, living in her own apartment with her own life.

~*~  
Of course because she tries to plan for the conversation the world reminds her that she's not supposed to think when she's with Leslie, it sets her up for honesty the way it sets some people up for failure.

Leslie claimed she needed to go out of town for a few days and forgetting about the obvious lack of pregnancy celebrations Gabriela decides to tell her about Zoya when she gets back and in the meantime closes Molly's for lunch so they can make it to a bed for once. She lets herself be pressed against the front door, the buttons of her top being hastily undone.

“We’ll do this again when I can be less gentle, yes? ”

Gabriela nods, reaching behind her for the handle, not bothering to stifle her moans at the prospect of an empty flat.

"Except maybe it'll be you up against this door and before you speak “I’ll-”

“SURPRISE!”

 Leslie drops the bundle of flowers while everyone else in the room wilt considerably. The silence is broken by Cruz who pats the back of a stunned Otis.

“And you told us not to flirt with her.”

~*~  
The baby shower goes along smoothly despite how it began, but Gabriela and Leslie exchange only a few words and Kelly wisely takes more photos of the presents and guests than insisting on group photos. When everyone leaves Zoya gives a hug to Leslie who doesn't hug back then kisses Gabriela at the door. While the pair clean up Leslie talks about how she wanted to throw an all female baby shower before realizing most of their friends were men and that most of them had kids and were actually curious about exactly what went down at a baby shower. It had made for more interesting games, she admits, and provided plenty of blackmail material thanks to Kelly and Peter snapping photos at everything that made them laugh.

She talks until she has nothing left to say then goes out on the balcony with her head low. Gabriela follows her out, a hand resting on her stomach.

“I meant to tell you.” Leslie keeps staring straight ahead. “I was afraid.”

“Of?”

“When Clarice was pregnant you treated her like that kid was yours and then she ran off with her husband. I don’t want you to think I’d ever do something like that. You’re working all the time now and Zoya she was just there. She listened to me, gave me something else to think about.”

“I’m glad you have someone to take your mind off carrying my baby.” Leslie sniffs, but refuses to wipe at her eyes. “I trust you not to do something horrible like run off.”

“So then why are you upset with me?”

“I’m  not.  We've got all this new stuff, I'm going to work on the nursery, leave the dishes, I’ll get to them later.”

She all but sprints back into the house and Gabriela shouts, “Fudging fudge frick”, but it doesn't make her feel any better.

~*~  
Nine months of cravings, drama and changing the titles of rap songs to “Beethoven” in her play list later, Dante Gabriel Shay is born healthy and as happy as a new person who comes into the world screaming can be. When Gabriela wakes up Leslie has her eyes closed with her chin in her hand like she’d fallen asleep staring at her

“Get used to the snoring,” she whispers to Dante who is awake in the crib beside her bed. “I’m serious, scream nice and loud all the time so she hears you.”

Leslie reaches out a leg to lightly kick Gabriela with her toe before stretching and redirecting her attention to him. She puts her pinky between his fists while staring at Gabriela as if she knows there's something the other woman wants to say, but felt like she needs permission to. If Gabriela had the power she would outlaw that expression because Zoya has been good to her since the very beginning and  for all she knows she's projecting and Leslie's bad mood has nothing to do with jealousy.

 

~*~

When she gets the all clear to go home they pack the flowers and cards into the backseat of Leslie's car then buckle Dante in.  Leslie holds open the passenger’s side door for Gabriela and asks casually,

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I love you,” she answers and for once what she intended to say and what she says are exactly the same.

Leslie kneels to kiss her. "It's about time."


End file.
